


Soy Sauce

by sinemoras09



Series: Soy Sauce [1]
Category: Dorohedoro
Genre: Affection, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Post-Canon, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:29:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25946629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinemoras09/pseuds/sinemoras09
Summary: Nikaido and Kaiman become more than friends. Nikaido/Kaiman. Post-series. Spoilers through chapter 167.
Relationships: Kaiman/Nikaido
Series: Soy Sauce [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885126
Comments: 20
Kudos: 86





	Soy Sauce

"So when are you two gonna get together?" Haru asks.

She's sitting on the counter, legs crossed with her devil body propped up against the table. Nikaido tilts her head and Kaiman looks confused.

"Eh? Together?" Nikaido turns the gyoza on the frying pan with a pair of chopsticks. The oil sizzles as she pushes the gyozas around. "What do you mean, together?"

"I mean, when are you two going to fuck?"

"Eh?!" Nikaido says.

"What the fuck - we're just friends!" Kaiman says.

"You know Haze and I started as just friends." Haru drinks her beer. "Honestly I keep watching you two and it feels like I'm getting blue-balled."

"You're so annoying!" Kaiman says. Nikaido shakes her head.

"Devils sure are something," Nikaido says after Haru leaves. She and Kaiman had watched, slightly bemused, slightly horrified, as Haru split open the devil body's back and slid in, its entrails and muscles all slick and shiny. Like a reverse birth, except instead of extruding outwards, she slowly got re-wrapped in the membranous caul.

*****

"Kaiman? Can you make the filling? I have to go check on the inventory."

"But I don't know the seasoning!" Kaiman says. He trots over to the store room where Nikaido is hunched over a stack of cardboard boxes. Nikaido looks up and grins at him.

"Your turn, part-timer," Nikaido says. "I wanna see how much you've learned."

"O-oh." Kaiman blinks, then straightens. "What if it's not very good?"

"Then you eat them. We won't give it to the customers. Can you make the wrappers?"

"Filling AND wrappers?!"

"Can you do it?"

"Aggh. This job sucks!" Kaiman says. Nikaido swats him on his backside and waves him away from the storage room.

He opens the walk-in refrigerator and grabs a tray of different cuts of meat and vegetables. Pork. Beef. Ginger. Shiso. Scallions. He stops a moment, then glances behind him.

Nikaido is leaning against the doorway, watching. "Don't mind me," Nikaido says.

"Oi, shouldn't you be doing prep?" Kaiman says. Nikaido gestures to the tray.

"That's what you're supposed to do."

"Ah, this is gonna suck," Kaiman says. He skulks around the walk-in for a moment before grabbing a few onions, which roll around the tray. "Don't blame me if we lose customers!"

He sets the tray down on the counter with a thud. A few onions roll off.

Chopping meat is the easiest. Kaiman is good at that. He throws a slab of pork onto the chopping board and hacks at it with a knife. Meat grinders aren't his style, it's easier to just whack it with a cleaver into tiny little pieces. Same with chopping ginger and scallions. The onions make him cry and he throws on his mask to keep Nikaido from making fun of him.

"Fry up a little meatball to see what seasoning you need," Nikaido says. Dutifully Kaiman rolls up a little ball and lets it fry in the wok. He pops it in his mouth, frowning.

"Well?" Nikaido says. Kaiman frowns.

"It's not good."

"Let me taste."

He fries a second meatball and gives it to Nikaido, who rolls the meat around in her mouth, considering. "You put soy sauce in this?"

"Yeah. And the sugar. And the ginger."

"Add a little dashi," Nikaido says. She grabs a sack of powdered bonito flakes and shakes a bit into the bowl.

Stir. Make a ball. Fry. Kaiman and Nikaido watch as the meatball crisps and turns a golden brownish red. They each pop a piece into their mouths.

Kaiman's eyes light up. "Whoa!"

"Good, right?"

"Really good!"

They high-five, laughing. Kaiman picks up the bowl and Nikaido lays out the dumpling wrappers - freshly made, courtesy of Kaiman - before sitting down next to him and crimping the gyozas closed like a purse.

*****

Closing time. Kaiman helps Nikaido lock up, watching as she pulls down closed the metal gate and latching the padlock closed.

"Ne, Kaiman?"

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking." Her back is facing him. She's busy chaining the gate. "Maybe we should be roommates."

"Roommates?" Kaiman turns to look at her. Nikaido straightens.

"Yeah! I mean, I live right above the restaurant, you wouldn't have to walk so far, and my apartment has two bedrooms. And if we split the rent it'll be more cheap."

"Yeah, yeah, I could see that." Kaiman scratches his chin. "It'd be nice not living in a studio apartment."

"In a studio apartment covered in grease stains and overrun with cockroaches."

"Don't let Jonson hear you say that," Kaiman says. Nikaido laughs. "Oi, but I'm a guy. You won't be irritated living with a guy like me?"

"Why would I be irritated?" Nikaido slings her bag over her shoulder. Kaiman shrugs.

"I mean, I might leave the toilet seat up--"

"You already do."

"And I'm not that neat, and sometimes my head gets stuck--"

"Like when you wake up and pierce your pillows?"

"Yeah."

Nikaido waves her hand. "I won't be offended if you don't want to. I was just thinking out loud."

"I think that it'd be nice," Kaiman says. "Livin' with my best friend right above the restaurant!"

Nikaido's face splits into a grin. "So you want to?"

"Hell yeah! You gonna cook me gyoza?"

"I already cook you gyoza."

"Then you're gonna cook me more gyoza!"

Nikaido laughs happily.

*****

"So are you two fucking already?" Haru says.

She's following them on Moving Day because she's bored, Kazukabe rubbing his head apologetically while Vaux and Risu help grab their stuff.

"Man you're annoying," Kaiman says. He grunts as he and Risu lift a couch up the stairs, Kaiman on the bottom and hefting the majority of the weight. Haru follows them slyly.

"When you room together you're gonna start fucking."

"No we're not, we're just friends, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"He's so stupid, Nikaido," Haru says, and Nikaido blinks. "I feel bad for you."

Kaiman doesn't have a lot of stuff, so they stack his cardboard boxes up against the wall of the living room, moving his couch in because Nikaido's had broken. "Someone had left it in the trash," Nikaido says. Her couch is beat up, all frayed fabric and exposed springs. "It seemed good enough."

"How is it that you have a nicer couch?" Risu asks. Kaiman shrugs.

"I dunno. Maybe 'cuz I don't sleep on it?"

"You two are gonna be fucking on that couch," Haru says.

*****

Living with Nikaido is nice.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Nikaido asks. She's wearing a T-shirt that's so long it's covering her shorts, so it looks almost as if she's just walking around in a T-shirt and panties. Kaiman stretches, sitting on the couch.

"Sure! Whaddaya wanna watch?"

Nikaido's eyes glitter. "I wanna see a horror movie."

"Yeah! I love horror!"

Nikaido grins. "A horror movie about ghosts."

Kaiman balks. "Can't we watch something with zombies?"

"No! You're not scared of zombies! I wanna watch something with ghosts."

They huddle up on the couch. The lights are off, and Kaiman scoots closer and closer to Nikaido until he's full-on hiding behind her, freaking out and burying his face against her shoulder during the scary parts. Nikaido laughs. She pats Kaiman on the leg affectionately.

"Nikaido. That movie sucked."

Nikaido is brushing her teeth while Kaiman is standing accusingly at the door. "What's wrong with the movie?" Nikaido asks. Kaiman gestures.

"What's wrong? It was scary as fuck, that's what's wrong!" Nevermind the fact that they faced down Hole-kun and zombies and a literal horde of magic users covered in sludge. "Zombies are just hungry. Ghosts suck!"

He follows her to the bedroom. She's just finished showering; her hair is wet and hanging loosely above her shoulders. "Nikaido! That movie scared the shit out of me! Now I can't go to sleep!"

She sits on the mattress, her bare legs against her chest. She smiles and pats the side of the bed. "Wanna sleep here?"

"What, in your bed?"

"No, dummy, on the futon on the floor. But I guess I wouldn't mind if you shared the bed."

"I might put holes in your mattress," Kaiman says. Nikaido laughs. He crawls into bed next to her.

She switches off the light. Kaiman's body is firm and warm and Nikaido balls herself up comfortably against him. She feels his chest rise and fall as he breathes.

*****

"So you shared a bed, and you're still not fucking?" Haru says.

"Why do you keep harping on that?!" Kaiman says. Nikaido shakes her head. Kaiman slams his fist on the table. "And how the hell do you know we shared a bed? Nikaido! Did you tell her?!"

"Of course I didn't tell her! She's a devil, she's all-seeing and all-powerful."

"Geez."

Haru rests an arm on the table. "So is it normal for two best friends to share a bed and not be fucking?" Haru says, but no one answers, so she answers her own question.

"Maybe it's because he's got a lizard head," Haru says.

*****

Nikaido is uncharacteristically quiet. Kaiman follows her anxiously, watching as she chats with the customers and doles out drinks and gyozas. She's acting normally, but Kaiman knows better.

"Ne, Kaiman?"

"Yeah?" They're closing up the restaurant again. Nikaido fiddles with her sleeves.

"You ever hear of the term, 'friends with benefits'?"

"Yeah? What's that?"

"When two friends have sex with each other."

Kaiman glances at her. "Is this because of what Haru said?"

Nikaido shrugs. "I mean," she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "you know. I've never thought about it."

"Uh huh."

"But we're best friends, right? And neither of us are dating."

"Heh. Like anyone would date me and my stupid lizard head."

"Your head isn't stupid. It's actually kind of cute."

"Thanks," Kaiman says. He looks at Nikaido steadily.

"Kaiman?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna have sex?"

"Not really."

"Okay."

They walk up the metal steps to their apartment.

*****

A few days later, Nikaido is walking to her bedroom after taking a shower, toweling her hair, when she sees Kaiman sitting on the bed.

"Hey Kaiman." Nikaido rubs a towel on her head.

"Hey." Kaiman seems uncharacteristically subdued. His cheeks beneath his scales are red. He doesn't look at her. "So, uh. Were you serious, when you asked about having sex?"

"Yeah." Nikaido sets down her towel. Kaiman fiddles with his mask.

"You wanna have sex?"

"Sure."

"Uh. I got condoms."

Nikaido grins at him.

*****

Nikaido likes having sex with Kaiman.

It's nice. It's comfortable, like making gyozas or watching a movie at the end of the day. "Yo Nikaido, wanna have sex?" Kaiman will ask, and Nikaido will nod and laugh, and they'll walk matter-of-factly into the bedroom.

Sex with Kaiman is all hard powerful thrusts and big arms hugging her body. It's kisses on the nose because they need to avoid his teeth. It's running her hands up and down the broad muscles of his back, the skin warm and soft and surprisingly human.

"Your scales are soft." Nikaido is lying on her side, looking at Kaiman's face. He has cute round eyes like a cartoon character's, and they light up happily as Nikaido's fingers gently trace the scales on his face. "It's kind of like snake's skin," Nikaido says.

"I thought I was like a caiman?"

"Mm. I think caiman scales are soft, too."

She kisses his snout. She smiles when she presses her lips against his cheek. They nuzzle foreheads and fold up against one another.

"Geez. I wish I had a normal face. I can't kiss you like this," Kaiman says. He's lying on his back in the bed, Nikaido curled up naked on his chest. She snuggles against him.

"S'okay. I don't care about that," Nikaido says.

Having sex with Kaiman means Nikaido gets to see him naked. Which is only fair, considering the times he's seen her without her shirt. "It's weird seeing you with a penis," Nikaido says. Kaiman pulls back.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I mean, look at you," Nikaido says, and they both look down at Kaiman's muscled torso and the thatch of dark hair around his penis, which is stiff and pointing upwards. She grins at him. "Your dick looks like a mushroom."

Kaiman reddens. "O-oi."

She rides him until she comes, then hugs him while he orgasms. It feels nice. She feels his hand rest on her head as they catch their breath. It's not until he tries to sit up that he realizes his head is stuck against the mattress.

"Oh shit," Kaiman says, and Nikaido laughs.

*****

"So," Haru says. "Are you two a thing, yet?"

Kaiman sputters. Nikaido shakes her head.

"Haru-chan. Kaiman and I are just friends."

"Friends with benefits, though, yes?"

"That's none of your business!" Kaiman says.

*****

They close up the restaurant. Kaiman isn't looking at her. He's burning a hole into the concrete floor.

"Oi, Nikaido."

"Yeah?"

Kaiman trudges up the metal steps in front of her, heavily. "We're friends, right?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"I mean--" Kaiman waits while Nikaido unlocks the door to their apartment, jingling her keys. "You're important to me."

"Aw. You're important to me, too," Nikaido says. She opens the door and turns on the lights.

"Nikaido?"

"Yeah, Kaiman?"

Nikaido is taking off her shoes. Kaiman pulls off his boots next to her. "I'm glad that we're not dating."

Nikaido walks into the living room. "You mean each other, or other people?"

Kaiman grunts. "Other people."

"Yeah, me too."

"Other people are annoying."

Nikaido laughs. They sit on the couch.

She rests her head on his chest; Kaiman automatically puts his hand on her shoulder.

*****

They're prepping for opening, Nikaido kneading a mixture of ground pork in a bowl while Kaiman is mincing ginger, when Nikaido says, "I love you, you know that, right?"

Kaiman grunts. "Yeah, I know. I love you too."

"Wanna have sex after work?"

"Yeah."

They start folding wonton wrappers into gyozas.

*****

"So are you guys now a thing?" Haru asks.

Nikaido shrieks and Kaiman yelps, because it's nighttime and they had been cuddling in bed, when Haru's devil form suddenly showed up floating in their bedroom.


End file.
